The Theory—Ladenness of Observation

Abstract

Revolutionary new views concerning science have recently been advanced by Feyerabend, Hanson, Kuhn, Toulmin, and others. The claim that there are pervasive presuppositions fundamental to scientific investigations seems to be essential to the views of these men. Each would further hold that transitions from one scientific tradition to another force radical changes (a) in what is observed, (b) in the meanings of the terms employed, and (c) in the metastandards involved. In this Chapter I will discuss and evaluate (a). In subsequent Chapters I will then focus on (b) and (c) with a final return to (a).